Saturday, March 22, 2008

Phantom Movement

One of the newer phenomena that I've been experiencing lately is phantom baby movement...that's the only way I can think of to describe it. It's stealth movement, almost unnoticeable. See, on one hand there's the obvious movements...kicks, thumps, ripples across my belly...anything that is totally noticeable, either because I can actually see it happening or because I can feel it hitting my insides. I find that sort of movement really entertaining. Watching your body do things when you're not making them happen is such a strange thing, but it's really cool. I like watching my belly move and knowing that it's the baby moving around inside. Craig can enjoy that now too, which is nice. We still can't really identify body parts yet, but I'm sure it's just a matter of time.

Phantom movement, however, just seemed to start recently. It's really odd. All I can describe it as is a strange sensation inside my body. It's not visible, and it's really not even identifiable while it's happening. I just sense something strange, and usually I can pinpoint where it seems to be coming from. When the sensation passes, I can usually feel in that area of my belly and that's where the baby is hanging out. That area of my belly can go from being soft one second to rock hard the next, because there's a baby hanging out just beneath the surface.

The closest example I can give to describe it is a gas bubble. You ever have a funny feeling in your stomach, a feeling you almost can't put your finger on, and seconds later you hear or feel a gas bubble gurgle through your insides? That momentary pre-bubble feeling is what this phantom movement is closest to, but it's even more subtle than that. It's not necessarily painful, but sometimes there is a slight discomfort, which seems to be a baby appendage poking into something. If there is discomfort, it doesn't last long. I generally just rub the area for a little while to see if the baby responds, and eventually one of us loses interest and moves on.

I noticed it happening periodically over the past week or so, then really started noticing it while sitting in church on Thursday night and Friday afternoon. It even happened while I was sitting here typing this entry. The ironic thing? When I'm getting ready to sleep in a little while, that's when the obvious movement will kick in. It's already starting...mommy's getting ready to sleep, and the baby will do anything but!